Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Maggie Keller's life turned upside down the day she forgot Toto. In eighth grade, Maggie was cast as Dorothy, the lead in The Wizard of Oz. As her mom is driving her to rehearsal, Maggie shouts out that she forgot the stuffed dog at home. Her mom, without checking the traffic around them, turns the car around and causes an accident.
Maggie was once the most popular girl in her class. But after the accident, she has a deformed leg, and considers herself the Frankenstein of the class. Her ex-best friend, Sukie, is the new #1 girl and has a new best friend, Heather. Maggie is on the fringes of school society now.
When Dahlia Wainwright arrives at school, the two form their own exclusive freak club. Dahlia lives by her own rules, not caring what others think. Maggie tries to live that way ATA (after the accident.) Maggie is enamored with Dahlia's home life. Jonah, Dahlia's younger brother, thinks he's magical. And Dahlia's mom, Leah, weaves creative worlds with the dolls that she collects. Leah welcomes Maggie into their lives, dubbing her "LaSamba," the sad clown.
Slowly, Maggie starts to question her feelings for Dahlia. A simple touch of Dahlia's hand causes sparks inside Maggie. Maggie has never felt like this before, certainly not with Sukie, and in hindsight, not with her old boyfriend, Albert.
Soon, the school is hearing rumors about Maggie and Dahlia. For all Dahlia's talk of not caring, she has started to enjoy popularity, and doesn't want to disappear into the unknown again.
The issues in MY TIKI GIRL are definitely for an older reader. Though there are no actual sex scenes in the story, the underlying context is very apparent and may be too much for a younger reader. Maggie struggles to come to terms with whom she is and who she is supposed to be. With a distant father at home, and unusual friends at school, Maggie must decide what it is she wants and go after it.
Maggie Keller's life turned upside down the day she forgot Toto. In eighth grade, Maggie was cast as Dorothy, the lead in The Wizard of Oz. As her mom is driving her to rehearsal, Maggie shouts out that she forgot the stuffed dog at home. Her mom, without checking the traffic around them, turns the car around and causes an accident.
Maggie was once the most popular girl in her class. But after the accident, she has a deformed leg, and considers herself the Frankenstein of the class. Her ex-best friend, Sukie, is the new #1 girl and has a new best friend, Heather. Maggie is on the fringes of school society now.
When Dahlia Wainwright arrives at school, the two form their own exclusive freak club. Dahlia lives by her own rules, not caring what others think. Maggie tries to live that way ATA (after the accident.) Maggie is enamored with Dahlia's home life. Jonah, Dahlia's younger brother, thinks he's magical. And Dahlia's mom, Leah, weaves creative worlds with the dolls that she collects. Leah welcomes Maggie into their lives, dubbing her "LaSamba," the sad clown.
Slowly, Maggie starts to question her feelings for Dahlia. A simple touch of Dahlia's hand causes sparks inside Maggie. Maggie has never felt like this before, certainly not with Sukie, and in hindsight, not with her old boyfriend, Albert.
Soon, the school is hearing rumors about Maggie and Dahlia. For all Dahlia's talk of not caring, she has started to enjoy popularity, and doesn't want to disappear into the unknown again.
The issues in MY TIKI GIRL are definitely for an older reader. Though there are no actual sex scenes in the story, the underlying context is very apparent and may be too much for a younger reader. Maggie struggles to come to terms with whom she is and who she is supposed to be. With a distant father at home, and unusual friends at school, Maggie must decide what it is she wants and go after it.
Maggie has survived a car accident that took the life of her mother. She now has a very long scar on her leg and walks with a gimp. She considers herself "Frankenstein Girl". Maggie was once one of the most popular girls in school, but after the accident, the kids around her were unsure of how to treat her, as she kind of shut herself off from other, including her best friend since 1st grade, Sukie.
Maggie is intrigued by a new girl, Dahlia, and reaches out to her. She is different than the crowd that Maggie used to hang with. She is hippy-ish, loves poetry and has a very different kind of family.
The antics that Dahlia's family go through are a little crazy, with dolls, Dahlia's little brother being a wizard all the time, etc.
I think this book just reached out and made you feel that loving people and knowing when they needed that kind of love was the most important. I believe that Maggie reaching out to Dahlia, and falling in love with her was just that.
Maggie is intrigued by a new girl, Dahlia, and reaches out to her. She is different than the crowd that Maggie used to hang with. She is hippy-ish, loves poetry and has a very different kind of family.
The antics that Dahlia's family go through are a little crazy, with dolls, Dahlia's little brother being a wizard all the time, etc.
I think this book just reached out and made you feel that loving people and knowing when they needed that kind of love was the most important. I believe that Maggie reaching out to Dahlia, and falling in love with her was just that.
